What a career - A Collection of Happy Accidents

About the Book

The major emphasis of the book is the life long learning experience of the practicing chemist and teacher.  The early years show the surprises that appear as opportunities arise along with an independance seldom ever feel, and those factors help form the life.  The long term of schooling, interrupted by the need to work or do Army service, slowly develops the education and the philosophy of patience.  The personal life is outlined through the joys of two marriages and the growth of three daughters.

Follow the young man through six colleges and universities, and a variety of informative jobs.  As an early computerist, the use of computer technology leads to new opportunities to be dovetailed with the activities as a chemist.  His industrial experience ranged from Playtex to Scott paper, then to General Tire and the Mellon Institute.  He moved to southern CA to work on acrylic sheets for airplane windows, and then to Avon Lake OH to work on water soluble acrylic polymers.  After such experiences, one could not be surprised at the move to work alone as a consultant, a writer, a lecturer and eventually as an expert witness.  As a tour speaker for the American Chemical Society and the Federation of Societies for Coatings Tecnology (a paint chemistry technical organization), he has visited many corners of the US.

Examples of the writings are also included, as they show the breadth of the topics so often used in speaking engagements.

About the Author

Bob Athey took 20 years to work his way through college, getting a BS from the Univ. of MD in 1964, and a Ph. D. from the Univ. of DE in 1974. Although his academic background was in organic chemistry, he claims only about six months of that in his experience, as he became a latex maker shortly thereafter. His 30+ years experience includes work with a paper company, three rubber companies, a plastics company and the Mellon Institute. He has operated his own international consulting firm for more than nineteen years, and is a prize winning author and speaker. He has several patents, has a book on emulsion polymers for Marcel Dekker, and has regular columns in magazines in Europe and the US. He is a member of the ACS, GGSCT, TAPPI and formerly a member of the Computer Press Association. He is a Fellow of the American College of Forensic Examiners. He is listed in Who's Who, and in American Men and Women of Science, and is a member of the science honor society, Sigma Xi.